Secrets with Demons
by evilpandas224
Summary: Flo Austin was seven years old when a demon possessed her brother and ripped apart her life. Lucky timing from a hunter named Nilda saved her life...or so she thought. Now, ten years later, she's a talented hunter, living with Nilda and her son Esteban. She discovers something that makes her question whether or not the attack on her family was random...or if there's something more.


Prologue

The little girl who skipped along the pavement on October thirteenth, nineteen ninety eight, was utterly unremarkable. Short black hair, bright green eyes, honestly the only thing slight off-putting about her was the hard scowl her features were arranged in. Her walk was more of an annoyed strut, sassy and meaningful. She was visibly pissed, and for good reason. Every day her older brother Caleb was supposed to meet her in front of the elementary school to walk her home. Today, however, she had waited for twenty whole minutes and he hadn't showed up. She couldn't wait to tell on him.

The neighborhood she lived with also showed no signs of anything out of the ordinary. The streets were lined with trees crowned with golden leaves that quivered as if with anticipation for the gust of wind that would send them spiraling to the ground. The lights in the houses surrounding her were mostly switched off, not unusual for this time of day. Most of the children living in the houses were either in daycare or afterschool activities and most of the parents were in work.

Grumbling under her breath, the girl kicked at the already fallen leaves that layered the pavement. The elementary school was located four suburban city blocks from her house. For a child aged seven it was an intimidating stretch, especially when you didn't have your trusty older brother at your side. She was scared. But as she waited at the corner of the street for the cars to pass, she decided that there really wasn't any threat. If someone tried to snatch her off the street, Mrs. Nelson, the old lady who lived next door, would call the police. Giving a quick glance to either side, the girl made a wild dash across the street. She was on her block now. Oh, Caleb would have hell to pay.

She fished her spare house key out of her jacket pocket as she turned the corner into her yard. She planned ahead of time what she was going to say to Caleb to make him feel bad. Yelling at him to simply intimidate him wouldn't work, considering that she was roughly four feet tall. Hopefully the guilt path would work. She really counted on Caleb to meet her. He had proven to be a good person to talk to about her troubles in the first grade, like how the words on the board never seemed to sit still, and how sometimes the girls in her class made fun of her for her slightly Mediterranean complexion. The walk him was the perfect time to remove that load from her shoulders. She turned the key and pushed the door open.

"Caleb, I am _so_ telling mom that you-" She froze in the doorway. Something was off. The picture of her family that hung in the entry way was missing from its spot on the wall. Her first thought was _robber_, but no, that didn't make sense. Why would a robber steal a picture of her family? It wasn't worth anything, just a simple picture framed in a cheap dollar store frame. Not exactly a rare oil painting. Of course. Caleb was probably playing a trick on her, trying to scare her. She cautiously walked around the corner, ready to bite or kick if Caleb were to jump out.

"Caleb?" she called again. Her voice echoed through the seemingly empty house. "Caleb, where are you?"

As she began to walk up the stairs, a smell hit her nostrils. Sickeningly sweet and vaguely metallic, like a penny. She gagged and pulled the collar of her shirt up over her nose. Her feeling of unease was strengthening.

"Hello?" She reached the top step. The floor boards creaked loudly beneath her socked feet. She flinched. The smell was getting stronger. Something was smeared on the wall, a crimson stain about the width of three fingers. It resembled…oh God. Her heart felt as though it was dropping from her chest into her stomach. If this was a prank, then Caleb must've worked really hard on it. She swallowed down nausea and continued down the hall. She considered switching on the light, but that felt dangerous. She pressed her back against the wall and inched her way along the dimly lit hallway.

"Flo? Is that you?" a voice called. She started, her heart beat picking up pace.

"Caleb?" Momentarily forgetting herself, she ran in the direction of his voice. She turned the corner into her parent's bedroom. "Caleb, where-"

She halted, eyes widening. Then she screamed. The white comforter of her parent's bed was stained crimson, gleaming with fresh blood. Blood dripped from the mattress, pooling on the ground. The body of her mother, mangled with multiply stab wounds and cuts, lay in a heap near the closet. Her eyes, glassy with the trance of death, stared blankly up at the ceiling. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her father's body was draped across the nightstand, bearing the same wounds as his wife. The weapons that had committed the bloody deed were carefully arranged on the dresser, scrubbed and polished as if they had never touched human flesh.

The little girl stumbled backward, her hands instinctively reaching up to cover her mouth. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Her breathing quickened and bile rose in her throat. She collapsed to her hands and knees and heaved up the contents of her stomach. Hands closed around her waist dragging her to her feet. She screamed again and began struggling fiercely, kicking and clawing at her captor.

"Aw come on, Flo. That's no way to treat your brother." The girl froze. She turned her head and stared into the eyes of her brother. But it wasn't her brother. His eyes weren't blue like they were supposed to be. They were coal black, every last part of them. He blinked and they cleared. He smirked at the horrified expression on her face. Shocked into silence, she inhaled a shaky breath.

"C-Caleb?" she tried to say, but her voice failed her.

"What's the matter, boo? Cat got your tongue?" He tapped her playfully on the nose. She flinched away from his touch, ready to unleash another bloodcurdling scream. As if sensing her intentions, Caleb covered her mouth, digging his palm into her teeth so she couldn't speak. She tasted blood on his hand and gagged.

"Uh, uh, uh," he sneered. "No screaming. It makes me angry. And I don't want to cut you up like I cut up mommy and daddy."

A tear slipped down Flo's cheek. Her whole body trembled, but she managed to speak. "Y-you're not Caleb."

Caleb, or rather, the thing in Caleb laughed coldly. "And she gets it. You're right, I'm not. However, I'm in your brother, and I can hurt him. So you best do what I say. Understood?"

"U-understood."

Not-Caleb clapped his hands together twice, his face lighting up. "Good girl! Now, I want you to come with me. We're-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming downstairs. Flo's eyes widened.

"HELP!" she screamed, pulling free of Not-Caleb's grip. "Somebody help me!"

Not-Caleb made a sound of rage and struck her across her face, knocking her off her feet. She cried out in pain as she hit the ground. Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs, and Not-Caleb swore loudly. Flo managed to sit up. She sobbed in relief. Help was coming. She was going to be okay. She looked down and sobbed. Her hand was inches away from her mother's head.

Not-Caleb reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Flo realized a second too late what was about to happen. Time seemed to slow down. Not-Caleb pressed the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Flo screamed at the very top of her lungs, so loud that it left her feeling lightheaded. Black smoke poured from Not-Caleb's mouth as he crumpled to the ground. A woman burst into the room, holding a knife at the ready. Flo looked up at her, her eyes wild with terror.

"My brother," she whispered. She tried to stand, but her legs were shaking too badly. The woman knelt down next to her. She was pretty in a gruff way, Hispanic with brown hair streaked with grey. Her eyes were sharp and brown, and she wore a leather jacket over a simple olive tank top. Flo scooted away from her instinctively, her gaze on the knife the woman still held in her hand. The woman followed her gaze, her eyes softening slightly. She put the knife away.

"I'm not going to hurt you, _nina_," she said softly. Flo didn't move.

"How do you know my name?" she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse. The woman reached out and felt Flo's forehead. Flo flinched away from her touch.

"I know," she corrected herself, "knew your mother. We used to work together. My name is Nilda."

Flo's eyes immediately filled with tears and she made a soft whimpering noise. She hugged her knees to her chest, her shoulders beginning to tremble. "My mommy…"

Nilda sighed regretfully. "_Lo siento, nina. _I wasn't in time."

Flo lowered her head, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Nilda rubbed her back, mumbling soothingly in Spanish.

After a few minutes, Flo took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "W-where am I going to go?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across Nilda's face. "You'll come with me, _nina_. It's what your mother would've-" She tensed.

The cloud of black smoke that had poured from Caleb's mouth came zooming out of the vent, barreling straight into Flo's chest. She was suddenly unable to move. She wanted to scream, but her jaw wouldn't move. The black smoke was suffocating her. Nilda swore loudly. From her jacket pocket she pulled out a flask, but before she could unscrew the lid the black smoke suddenly left Flo, leaving her gasping on the floor. Nilda grabbed her hand. She was saying something, but Flo couldn't quite make out the words. It was like she was under several feet of water. Details were blurry.

There was a sudden explosion of intense agony in the back of her head and then there was nothing but darkness.


End file.
